Twine dispenser



. May 6 194L F. SELINGR 2,240,675

'TwINE DISPENSER Filed D66. 20, 1939 Patented May 6, 1941 24ans UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE s 2,240,675 TWINE DISPENSER Frank Selinger, New York, N.VY.

Application December 20, 1939, Serial No. 310,133

1 Claim.

This invention relates to improvements in twine dispensers, and more particularly to a deice for dispensing and cutting twine, cord, rope and the like.

Objects Among the principal objects which the present invention has in view are: to provide an improved device for dispensing and cutting twine, cord, rope and the like; to provide a device of which a part will rotate under influence of unwinding twine, cord, rope and the like while another part of the device will remain stationary; to provide means for increasing eiciency of the rotatable part of the device; to provide means for temporarily securing the device while unwinding twine, c'ord, rope and the like; to provide cutting means conveniently attached to a part of the de.- vice; to be enabled to attach to the device Various sizes of balls of twine, cord, rope and the like without effecting the construction of the same; to be enabled to disassemble the device for making replacements if desired; to secure simplicity of construction and operation; and to obtain other advantages and results as may be brought out in the following description.

Drawing Figure l is a vertical elevation of the improved twine dispenser embodying my invention;

Figure 2 is a vertical section shown as taken on line 2--2 of Figure 1;

Figure 3 is a detail plan view of the lower part and base of the dispenser shown as taken on line 3-3 of Figure 1; and

Figures 4 and 5 are sectional views of the housing and cutter apart from the dispenser, shown as taken on lines 4-4 and 5 5 respectively of Figure l.

Description Y As seen in the drawing, the reference numeral I indicates in general my improved dispenser which is particularly adaptable for retaining various size balls of twine, cord, rope and the like thereon, as well as for permitting unwinding ofl the particular ball and cutting the same when a length has been determined. The dispenser is of a construction which readily may be temporarily attached to any convenient location, especially in shipping rooms', wrapping departments, or on counters requiring minimum space. Also, if desired, the dispenser may be permanently attached to counters, wrapping tables and so forth.

The invention consists of a conical shaped device having a base Ii of any suitable conguration, such as being square or round. Extending upwardly from the base and integral therewith is a frusto-conical standard I2 and extending upwardly and parallel to the said frusto-conical standard and slightly spaced therefrom is a second frusto-conical or body portion member I3 of a length approximately three times that of the standard. Said body portion member I3 preferably is provided with a shoulder i4 approximately one-third upward from its lower or greatest dimensional part, the purpose of which will hereinafter be described. In passing it may be stated at this time that the construction of the dispenser IO and its several parts II, I2 and I3 may be of any suitable material, such as metal, Bakelite, aluminum or the like and though the shape is preferably frusto-conical, the shape may be varied without departing from the purpose and/or scope of the invention.

In order that the lower part of the dispenser may be connected to the upper body portion member I3, the base II is provided with a cutout portion or recess I5 of any suitable size and dimension. Centrally of this said recess the standard is provided with an upwardly extending opening I5 and the upper body portion member with a similar opening I'I, but of a slightly larger diameter and extending upwardly the entire Vertical length of said member. A square-head threaded stem I8 is inserted through the base II` and screw threaded upwardly through the standard I2 and upwardly through and b eyond the upper body portion member I3 without being screwthreaded thereto by Virtue of the opening of the larger diameter. However, it may be stated at this time before the member I3 is placed on the lower standard I2 a nut I9 is screwed downwardly from the top of the stem all the way down until it is juxtaposed to the surface of the standard. Also, in order that the nut I9 does not interfere with the operation of the dispenser and that the body portion member may be free to rotate, the said member is recessed as at 20 into which the nut projects without contacting the walls of said recess. The flat surfaces of both the upper body portion member I3 at the bottom thereof and the upper surface of the standard I2 are provided with peripheral grooves 2 I, 2l into which may be provided ball race 22 and ball bearings 23. It is on these ball bearings that the upper body portion member isI spaced from the standard and it is by virtue of said ball bearings that the upper body portion member is free to rotate and the standard and base remain stationary.

The upper part of the stem I8 which projects outwardly beyond the top of the member I3 may be provided with a screw threaded collar or washer 24 preferably spaced away from the top of the member I3 so as not to interfere with the operation of the said member. Said collar or washer is held secure in place by a set screw which in turn is adjusted to set into a groove 2S provided for that purpose in the stem adjacent the top thereof.-

As seen in Figures 1 and 2, I have shown use of two types of balls of twine, cord, rope or the like, mounted on the dispenser III or more particularly in direct contact with the upper rotata-V ble body portion member I3. showing is of the usual small ball of twine A which is of standard type, and in Figure 2 the showing is of a conical spool of cord B having a core C. In both instances the ball A and spool B snugly abuts the outer wall of the said rotatable member I3 and in neither instance contact is made with the stationary base I2. In Figure 1 the smaller orV standard size ball of twine Ar is pressed downward until it rests on the shoulder I4 thereby preventing the same from unravelling or otherwise becoming loose. In Figure 2 Ythe core C being `more or less solid in construction readily and snugly iits to the wall of the member I3. The respective showings of the ball of twine A and spool of cord B thus allow determined lengths to be unwound easily therefrom for wrapping packagesl and the like. As is usual there always'is a loose end to every ball of twine, spools of cord, rope and the like, and in order that the same may be used in minimum time, and without the usual unravelling, twisting and knotting, the twine, cord, rope and the like may be unwound evenly as the member I3 rotates on the ball bearings 23.

A further feature of the present invention resides in the means utilized for severing the twine, cord, rope and the like after a suiicient amount has been used for wrapping purposes. Such means preferably may be a cutting device 21 in a housing 28 mounted to the top of-the stem I8. In construction the said cutting devicecomprises a sharp edge member such as a razor blade 2S suitably held within the housing 28. Said housing preferably consists oftwo members 30 and 3I of which the member 30 for clarity will be referred to as the guard and the other member as the lower member. Both these said members are hingedly connected as by a pin 32. The lower member'as clearly shown in Figures 1 and 4 is provided with a collar 33 and extending downwardly therefrom with a stud 34 of an outside diameter substantially equal to the diameter of the uppermost part of the rotatable member I3. The collar 33 for purposes of preventing unravelling of the cut end of the twine, cord, rope and the like, may be provided with a notch 35 into which notch the free loose end of the severed twine, and the like may be snapped and thereby held until the twine and the like is again put into use. The4 stud 34 as shown is provided with internal screw threads 35 and may easily be screwed onto'thetop of the stem I3 and removed when desiring to place a new ball of twine, rope, cord and the like'on the dispenser. For cutting Y determined lengths of twine, cord, rope and the like; the upper hinged member or guard 3l may be Vprovided with downwardly extending angularly disposed cut out notches 31. In the present In Figure 1, the

showing two such angularly disposed notches are shown, but it is to be understood that more or differently shaped notches may be employed if so desired. However, as disclosed, the notches extend downwardly beyond the sharp severing edge of the blade 29 so that when the twine or the like is to be out, the operator easily may insert the twine into the notch against the cutting edge of the blade andv with a forward and backward movement and under inuence of slight pressure the twine and the like may be severed. In passing it may be stated that due to the angular disposition of the said notches the danger of the operator accidently receiving an injury will be greatly reduced since the width of the notch is so narrow, a linger cannot be inserted, and neither can a hand be cut by carelessly resting it on top of the cutting device. The cutters may be replaced whenever desired by simply raising the guard member by gripping a finger piece or downwardly projecting ear 33 at the end opposite to the hinge.

For temporarily securing the dispenser in a suitable and convenient place, Ihave provided one such means in the form of a plurality of rubber suction cups 33 suitably attached to the corners on the underside of the base l I. When desiring to permanently attach the dispenser, the same may be done very conveniently and to that end a plurality of holes 43 is provided in the base whereby bolts may be passed through for attaching the dispenser to a flat surface or the like.

Obviously detail changes and modifications may be made in the improved construction and operation of my twine dispenser without'departing from the spirit and scope of the invention. One such change may be in the surface construction of the frusto-conical members I2 and I3, and for insuring a better gripping surface for the balls of twine and so forth, the said surface may be roughened in any suitable manner.

I claim:

A twine dispenser of the character described comprising a base and a frusto-conical member integral therewith, a second frusto-conical member spaced upwardly from said rst member, said both members each having peripheral grooves facing each other, means Within said grooves for maintaining the spaced relationship of the said second member with respect to the rst member and permitting rotation of said second member, and a threaded stem extending upwardly from the base through the said frustoconical members with the stem projecting outwardly beyond the top of the upper member, said stem iixedly secured to the top of the lower member thereby permitting the upper member to rotate freely when in operation, said stem adjacent its upper end having a threaded collar spaced away from the upper member, and means for securely retaining said collar to the stem, and means mounted on the top of said stem adapted to sever twine, said means comprising a housing having a pair of hingedly connected guard members and a cutting member therebetween, one said guard member having a plurality of angularly disposed notches whereby the cutting edge of said cutting member protrudes slightly within said notches and adapted to sever the twine.

FRANK SELINGER. 

